Reuters is reporting that Secretary of State John Kerry “quietly acted last month to give Egypt $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid.”

According to laws governing the funds, in order to give the $1.3 billion to Egypt, the Secretary of State had to certify that the Egyptian government “is supporting the transition to civilian government, including holding free and fair elections, implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association and religion, and due process of law.”

But these restrictions can be–and apparently were–waived by the Sec. of State in this instance.

In a memo dated May 9, Kerry wrote: “A strong U.S. security partnership with Egypt, underpinned by Foreign Military Financing (FMF), maintains a channel to Egyptian military leadership, who are key opinion makers in the country.”

“A decision to waive restrictions on FMF to Egypt is necessary to uphold these interests as we encourage Egypt to continue its transition to democracy,” he explained.